BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES Thursday, April 5, 2018 The meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM by President, Marcel L. Dumont, W1MLD. Following the salute to the flag, roll call commenced with twenty-eight (28) members and zero (0) guest present. SECRETARY S REPORT A motion was made, seconded and carried to dispense reading of the Thursday, March 1, 2018 business meeting minutes, and to accept the report as posted on the website and bulletin board. TREASURER S REPORT Treasurer, Michael J. McDonald, KB1NB reported total assets of $95,946.96, with total inflows of $7,020.00 and total outflows of $610.14. As of tonight, the NETCOM balance is $24,039.61. Discussion followed regarding the NETCOM balance. Mike stated that he was scheduled to have a meeting with Alan Costello of NETCOM, however this was postponed due to him being hospitalized. A motion was made, seconded and voted to refer the report to audit. STANDING COMMITTEES BUILDINGS & GROUNDS Chairman Martin F. Jordan, KA1YFV reported that the yard has been dug up over the winter with tire tracks from vehicles, including from snow plows and around where the new HVAC units were installed. Going toward the summer, he mentioned that work will be required to repair these problem areas. SCHOLARSHIP Chairman William E. Gifford, W1HA mentioned that he still has not received any scholarship applications. Discussion followed on possible changes, including the possibility of handing it over to the ARRL. Business Meeting Minutes 4/5/2018 Page 1 of 8
A motion was made by Bradford E. Paiva, W1BEP, seconded and carried that we award the Scholarship every other year in the sum of $1,000, rather than the former practice of $500 every year. TECHNICAL Member Richard J. Cabral, W1RJC reported that he had cleaned up the clubhouse and radio room over the past week. Three large trash bags were filled and all of the old computers, monitors, keyboards and printers to be discarded were placed near the kitchen area. The bookshelf was cleaned and reorganized, old ARRL forms and information fliers that were very outdated in the magazine rack were also discarded. QST plus other publications that were typically scattered on the back table were nicely placed in the rack for easy access. The computer desk in the clubhouse was cleaned, reorganized and old items were either discarded or otherwise placed into proper storage. The Boston Acoustics AM/FM HD tabletop radio that was located behind the officers table was placed at the computer desk. A 1/8 stereo patch cable was interfaced between the PC line out and radio AUX IN to double as the computer speakers and a dipole antenna was attached to said radio for FM reception. Four new mouse pads were purchased and placed at each of the computers in the clubhouse and radio room. A brand new 49 LG 4K UHD TV that was previously approved was also purchased. A like new Cisco-Linksys wireless 4-port router has been donated to the club by Rick and installed in the radio room. This prompted a change of the network SSID (name), so that the clubhouse and radio room Wi-Fi networks can be identified and connected to independently. New signs will be placed at the clubhouse and radio room with the network names and passwords soon. Service upgrades were suggested. The first was by Michael J. McDonald, KB1NB that we look into better phone options for the club, as Verizon has slowly increased rates. We currently pay $50.00+ per month for a basic line with no long distance. The second was by Rick that we upgrade our internet gateway (modem/wireless router combo) and TV converter with Comcast Business. The current gateway is almost ten years old and in the past month, it began blocking port traffic to the IRLP nodes at the repeater site causing a disruption in service. The current TV converter is SD and it would be nice to upgrade it to HD to go with the new TV. All items will be brought up under new business. Business Meeting Minutes 4/5/2018 Page 2 of 8
SPECIAL COMMITTEES ARES, RACES, SKYWARN Richard J. Cabral, W1RJC reported that the RACES net was held on Monday, April 2 nd at 7:30 PM on the 147.000 repeater. RADIO EVENTS Robert B. Kelley, K1KVV mentioned that he has posted the ARRL Contest Coral on the bulletin board at the clubhouse. It is also available to view on the web site. Bob mentioned that the New England QSO Party is on Saturday and Sunday, May 5 th and 6 th. You can use CW, SSB and digital modes, but only on the traditional 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10- meter bands. The local NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts (162 MHz) are having technical difficulties since the move of the National Weather Service Forecast Office from Taunton to Norton. Bob mentioned he has a list of frequencies for local AM aircraft band weather observation stations, including the one at the New Bedford Airport. Donald A. Rosinha, II, WA1BXY probed for interest in operating the W1AEC club station for ARRL Field Day 2018 in June. We could operate either at the club or elsewhere at a fairground, park, etc. Discussion followed with a few members possibly interested. REPEATER As mentioned earlier, Chairman Richard J. Cabral, W1RJC reported that the IRLP nodes on all three repeaters are not functional due to an apparent port blocking issue that has arisen in the past month. A trouble call was scheduled for next week for a Comcast technician to visit and to possibly replace the gateway. Rick will meet with the technician and take care of this. There was some discussion about repeater antennas amongst the membership. This was brought up in light of some white noise and crackle that is beginning to be noticed on the 147.000 repeater. Marcel L. Dumont, W1MLD mentioned that Antone Souza, III, NN1D has an antenna analyzer and he will sweep the hardline/antenna when he has a moment. Business Meeting Minutes 4/5/2018 Page 3 of 8
WEB Member Richard J. Cabral, W1RJC mentioned that he will post the weather frequencies brought up by Robert B. Kelley, K1KVV on the website. RATIFICATIONS OF NEW MEMBERS A motion was made, seconded and carried to accept Paul I. Castro, KC1IRQ as a life member of the association. Paul had submitted an application prior to the March 2018 business meeting. Two new applications for membership were received from Timothy J. Brown, W1MKA of Mattapoisett and Alexander R. Shapiro, KC1JGI of Little Compton, RI. Tim holds an extra class license, has been a ham since 1962, is an ARRL member and has a degree in physics. Alex holds a general class license. Motions to accept them as life members of the association will be presented at the next business meeting. OLD BUSINESS Scott R. Smith, KE1CN wanted to remind us that the November and December 2017 business meeting minutes are still absent from the website. Marcel L. Dumont, W1MLD handed Richard J. Cabral, W1RJC a CD containing all of the meeting minutes from 2017. Rick noted that he was less involved with the website last year and the original documents were not properly archived. He will go through the CD and place the two missing months on the site as time allows. Paul G. Sadeck, K1PGS stated that he studied our Constitution and Bylaws and observed that it stressed a member in good standing often, however it is vague. A proposal was presented to modify Article 4, Section 2 of our Constitution, which was signed by himself and four other full members in good standing. The proposed amendment was read aloud and was given to President Marcel L. Dumont, W1MLD written exactly as follows: Paul G. Sadeck --- K1PGS Dear President Dumont, I propose the following changes to the Constitution. Business Meeting Minutes 4/5/2018 Page 4 of 8
CONSTITUTION Article 4 Membership Section 2 Member in good standing. A member in good standing shall be one who observes and upholds the Constitution and Bylaws of this Association, maintains a copy of a current valid amateur radio license on file with the Association Secretary and annually submits to the Association Secretary during the month of their birth, their current mailing address, telephone number (either home or cell), and their current email address. This submission may be done by email or U.S. mail. [Paul G. Sadeck signature] Submitted by Paul G. Sadeck K1PGS, member & Trustee Cell 508-961-7220 [Signatures and dates: Paul G. Sadeck Armand Augustine B. E. Paiva Raymond Arruda John Nery] 90 Doctor Braley Road East Freetown, MA 02717 As per our Constitution, this proposed amendment must be presented by one or more means to the membership before it may be voted on. After a brief discussion, it was decided that at least one week prior to the next business meeting, a notification will be sent via the members discussion mailing list and will be posted as a story on the main page of.org. This would allow for voting at the Thursday, May 3, 2018 business meeting. Donald A. Rosinha, II, WA1BXY re-sent out an email last month with a list of equipment to possibly sell. Some members advised that they still did not receive the email, possibly due to some resent Comcast email issues. Richard J. Cabral, W1RJC suggested that we print this email out and post it on the club bulletin board as well. Don would like to begin the process of selling equipment as soon as possible. No motion was made at this time. When the weather and water table clears, it was also noted that we would like to put up a new tower and antennas for the radio room. Business Meeting Minutes 4/5/2018 Page 5 of 8
Richard J. Cabral, W1RJC announced that he had received a letter of appeal that was sent to him via US Mail by John C. Nery, WA1ESO. The letter was regarding his concerns about a future alarm system to be installed at the club. John was present and spoke to the membership about this. He admitted to everyone that yes, he did recently go to Sawejko Communications in Somerset to inquire about the alarm system. When he went to the company, he did not position himself as an official from. His primary concern was that anyone who comes into to install an alarm system must be licensed by the state of Massachusetts with a completed and clear background check. Marcel L. Dumont, W1MLD mentioned that the brother of company owner Carl has a security license and they frequently do installations for Police, Fire and other public safety entities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Discussion followed as to the rules for the state of Massachusetts regarding this. John was implying that each person that does alarm system installations must be licensed with a background check. Marcel noted that the alarm system installation soon to be proposed and voted on is to be done free of charge by Sawejko Communications. John mentioned that if they are not doing it for hire, the license might not apply. Discussion then turned to the general membership, with a couple members informing John that they believed he was still out of line to have gone to Sawejko Communications himself. He should follow correct protocol by bringing up concerns and motions at business meetings rather than to go outside of the organization without authorization. John apologized to the membership for his actions. NEW BUSINESS Raymond A. Arruda, KB1EVX stated that if there is sufficient interest in a flea market, he volunteers to be the chairman of the ad-hoc committee to organize and put it together. Discussion followed about the possible date to be in either September or October and that we should plan to hold a VE exam session during that event. Donald A. Rosinha, II, WA1BXY mentioned that an antenna and rotor previously brought up by Antone Souza, III, NN1D as a suggestion for the radio room was priced out at about $8,000. Don recently talked with a few people and found there have also been problems with the rotor freezing up. He instead recommends getting three antennas. The first is a Hy-Gain TH-11DX HF beam which covers five bands; 10, 12, 15, 17 and 20-meters. That antenna costs roughly $1,200. The second is a Hustler 6BTV HF vertical antenna which covers 6 bands; 10, 15, 20, 30, 40 and 80-meters. That antenna costs roughly $269. Lastly, a rotatable dipole covering 6 through 160-meters. A motion was made, seconded and carried to allocate up to $2,000 plus the cost of shipping to purchase the three antennas. Business Meeting Minutes 4/5/2018 Page 6 of 8
Further antenna discussion followed, including the possibility of getting rid of the current 43-foot vertical HF antenna and the possible purchase of other antennas like the ones made by Mosley Electronics. Don mentioned that the Hy-Gain models are a solid design with good construction to withstand a harsh New England winter. Armand F. Augustine, W1BUG suggested that in light of us installing a security alarm system soon, we should acquire insurance for club equipment and antennas, possibly through the ARRL. No motion was made at this time, because we still need to finish a full audit, sell some items and purchase some more items. In the past, the membership was in agreement that we should go with equipment insurance, but it has not been pursued to date. It was also noted that we do have property insurance. Michael J. McDonald, KB1NB made a motion, which was seconded and carried, that we switch our phone service from Verizon to Comcast and upgrade our SD set-top box to HD. A one-time installation fee would be charged of $30 by Comcast and they would take care of porting our existing (508) 997-7070 phone number. Once the port is complete, it will automatically close our Verizon account. We currently pay $55 per month to Verizon and $130 a month to Comcast. The new monthly bill for all services was quoted at about $165/mo. ADJURNMENT A motion was made, seconded and unanimously voted to adjourn at 8:59 PM. Respectfully Submitted, Richard J. Cabral, W1RJC Secretary Business Meeting Minutes 4/5/2018 Page 7 of 8
BUSINESS MEETING ROSTER Thursday, April 5, 2018 Twenty-Eight (28) Members Present: CALL SIGN NAME POSITION W1MLD Marcel L. Dumont President AG1Y Jean P. Chiron Vice President KB1NB Michael J. McDonald Treasurer W1RJC Richard J. Cabral Secretary KA1YFV Martin F. Jordan Board of Directors N1IXC Joseph E. Krisnosky, Jr. Board of Directors W1BEP Bradford E. Paiva Board of Directors K1AHA Richard J. Halliwell KB1FVR Brian T. Geagan K1KVV Robert B. Kelley K1PGS Paul G. Sadeck KB1EVX Raymond A. Arruda KB1FRL Charles W. Moszczenski KB3HLW Christopher J. Bosse, Jr. KC1BYI Jonathan B. Copelano KC1IRQ Paul I. Castro Voted-In as New Member KD1YZ David A. DeCosta KE1CN Scott R. Smith N1NJI John W. O Brien, III N1TF Frederic S. Bacon, III N1TI Timothy R. Smith N1WCO Eric J. Pierce W1BUG Armand F. Augustine W1HA William E. Gifford W1MMD Marc M. Dumont WA1BXY Donald A. Rosinha, II WA1CCM Wayne C. Kingsley WA1ESO John C. Nery Zero (0) Guests Present Business Meeting Minutes 4/5/2018 Page 8 of 8